Rotary, toroidal chamber type hydraulic coupling and fluid circulating controls therefor



J. E, BECKER CHAMBE Jan. 5, 1954 ROTARY, TOROIDAL R TYPE HYDRAULIC COUPLIN AND FLUID CIRCULATING CONTROLS THEREFOR` Filed Dec. 2, 1952 .,:inlill willing@ InUEIltJEl-:f JHN E. EEEER Patented Jan. 5, 1954 UNITED STATE John Edward Becker, Darlington Township, Durham County, Ontario, Canada Application December 2, 1952, Serial No. 323,601

Claims. l

My invention relates to fluid circulation controls for fiuid couplings and is a continuation-inpart of my application, Serial No. 299,459, filed July 17, 1952, now Patent No. 2,644,304, in which application I disclosed a freely rotatable brake controlled coupling housing shell incorporating the iiuid reservoir, the fluid being transferred from the reservoir to the coupling through the medium of an impeller wheel contained within the reservoir and connected to the coupling impeller assembly to rotate therewith; the ejection of iiuid from the coupling being attained by the provision of a plurality of radial fins mounted upon the peripheral outer face of the portion of the impeller housing surrounding the coupling runner Wheel to act as a centrifugal pump for directing fluid into the iiuid reservoir, the pumping action of the fins being regulated by the speed of rotation of a freely rotatable brake controlled shell surrounding the impeller housing.

rEhe present invention relates to a coupling having the same general arrangement of freely rotatable outer and inner shells and impeller wheel contained within the outer shell reservoir as shown in my said application, Serial No. 299,459, and the obj ect of this invention is to eliminate the fins and the portion of the impeller housing surrounding the runner wheel, and through regulation of the speed of rotation of the shell surrounding the impeller and runner to utilize the pumping capacity obtained from the rotating blades of the impeller and runner to evacuate fluid from the coupling and transfer it to the reservoir.

With the foregoing and other objects in view as shall appear, my invention consists of a fluid circulation control for fluid couplings, constructed and arranged all as hereinafter more particularly described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

The figure is a side elevational view of the coupling and reservoir assembly, the upper portion thereof being shown in section.

An impeller housing 2 of dished ring shape is secured to a flange 2 on the inner end of a driving shaft which is carried by ball races 5 mounted within a supporting bracket 5. The inner end of the driving shaft has a reduced diameter portion 'i extending into a needle bearing t contained within the inner end of a driven shaft 9. The driven shaft is carried by ball race and seal ring assemblies i ii within the sleeve I9 of a supporting bracket il which is in alignment with the supporting bracket The entire coupling and reservoir assembly is contained within a rotatable cylindrical shell i2 2 carried upon a pair of ball bearing and seal ring assemblies I3 and I4; the assembly I3 surrounding inner ball bearing and seal ring assemblies I5,

vas shall be further explained, and the assembly Ili mounted upon the supporting hub bracket B. One end of the shell I2 constitutes the fluid reservoir I5, and the other end of the shell envelopes and is spaced apart from an inner coupling shell Il surrounding and spaced apart from the impeller housing 2 and runner housing I8.

The bearing and seal ring assemblies I5 surround and are supported by the inwardly extending sleeve I9 of the bracket II, and the shell Il is formed with an out-turned sleeve 29 which rides upon the assemblies I5. The bearing and seal ring assembly I3 is mounted between the out-turned sleeve 20 of the inner shell Il and an out-turned sleeve 2| formed upon the outer shell I2.

The inner shell I'I follows the contour of the impeller and runner housing 2 and IB, and in its portion enclosing the impeller housing is formed with a pair of spaced apart walls 22 and 23 which are belled at their inner peripheries to form a fluid entry to the iiuid reservoir IB. The curved inner periphery of the bell of the wall 22 is supported by a roller race assembly 2d carried upon a sleeve 25 secured upon the driving shaft 4i. Fluid entry into the passage 26 between the Walls 22 and 23 is controlled by several spaced apart ball check valves 2l arranged within the outer peripheral closures between the walls.

The concave ring shaped runner housing I8 has its central portion attached to a ange 28 on the inner end of the driven shaft 9. The impeller housing 2 and runner housing I8 carry a plurality of the usual radial impeller and runner blades 29 and 30 which support the usual ring members 3l and 32, whereby passages for fluid transmission of power are constituted.

The reservoir I6 is partitioned from the coupling by a dished ring wall 33 having its inner peripheral ring portion 34 curved to be concentric with the curved inner peripheral face of the bell of the wall 23. The partition wall contains a plurality of suitably spaced apart check valves 35 which provide one-way iiuid passages from the reservoir to the space 36 between the shells I2 and Il'. To inject fluid from the reservoir into the coupling, as shall be later described, an impeller disc Wheel 3l carrying peripheral blades 33 is attached to the sleeve 25 secured upon the driving shaft 4, whereby the impeller wheel rotates in unison with the impeller housing 2 which is also attached to the driving shaft.

the assembly unit formed by the outer shell E2, fluid reservoir i6 and inner shell ll is freely mounted upon the bearing assemblies i3, l5, l5 and 25, the assembly unit will normally rotate un r the action of the rotative movement of the fluid therein, the fluid in the assembly being free to centriiugally iiow from between the impeller and runner housings to the interior oi the shell ll, and as a certain quantity of iiuid is generally present in either the reservoir I6 or the space 35 between the shells. [Zand` l1, the'fouter shell iii will rotate with the shell H.

To govern the rotative movement of the shells l2 and il any suitable braking mechanisms may be used, as for example, a pair of brake bands 39 and lil surrounding the shell sleeves 20 and 2l', and actuated under movement of. brake handles li and 52. rThe uid passage 36 between the shells l2 and il communicates with the fluid passage fit between the shell il and the runner housing lil through a plurality of orices lill contained within the central' portion of the shell Il.

Operation When the coupling is in driving operation, the shells l2 and il surrounding the impeller and runner are rotating therewith, as is also the reservoir le and impeller wheel 3l, uid being present in theV shell Il and in either the reservoir it or the space :it between the shells l2 and il.

To remove all or part of the fluid from the coupling, the brake 39 is applied to retard the speed of rotation of the shell il. Immediately the speed oi rotation of the shell Il' falls below the speed oi rotation of the impeller and impeller driven runner, the rotative movement of the impeller and runner vanes 29 and 3G' will create a hydrostatic pressure in the shellV il? with the resultant passage of fluid through the check valves 2l into the passage 26 between the shell walls 22 and 23 and from thence into the fluid reservoir l. The speed of evacuation of the coupling, of course, depends upon whether the rotative speed of the shell I'l is merely reduced, or the shell brought to a stand-still.

As the shell l2 and reservoir i6 rotate at substantially the same speed as the speed of the coupling shell l'l, due to fluid friction, there is little difference between the speed of rotation of the fluid reservoir l5 and the contained impeller wheel 3l which rotates in unison with the drive shaft and the coupling impeller; consequently the reservoir i6, its contained centrifugal :duid ring and the blades Si! of the impeller wheel, normally have substantially the same rotative speed.

To ptinp fluid from the reservoir to the coupling, the brake lil governing the rotation of the shell l2 is applied to retard or stop rotation of the reservoir7 while at the same time the impeller wheel 3l, which is attached to the driving shaft d, 'maintains its speed. This action creates a hydrostatic pressure in the fluid ring in the reservoir with the resultant passage or" iiuid from the reservoir through the check values 35 into the iluid passage 3G and from thence through the oriices lf3 into the passage 43 beween the shell il and the runner housing i8 to be centrifugally carried to the peripheral portions of the iinpeller and runner housings from where it passes between the blades 29 and 3! into the housings.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the coupling will have the saine operating nexibility as that of the couping disclosed in my said application Serial No. 299,459, and that while I have shown a particular construction of this invention, variations may be made without departing from the underlying principles as set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. In combination with iiuid coupling assembly comprising an impeller secured to a driving shaft and a runner positioned adjacently to the impeller and secured to a driven shaft, an cuter fluid rictionally driven freely rotatable shell within which the couplng assembly is contained, a iiuid reservoir coupled to the shell and rotatable therewith, an impeller wheel rotatable withA the driving shaft and contained within the reservoir to constitute a fluid pump, a pumped fluid: passage extending from the reservoir to tho impeller and runner, and brake means for controlling the rotative speed of the outer shell, of a fluid frictionally driven freely rotatable inner coupling shell contained within the outer shell tosurround the impeller and runner, a check valve controlled passage forming a fluid communication between the inner coupling shell and the reservoir, and brake means for controlling the rotative speed of the inner shell.

A combination as defined in claim i, wherein the outer shell is spaced apart from the inner coupling shell, part or" the iluid passage from the reservoir to the iinpeller and runner being formed by the space between the shells.

3. A combination as delined in claim l, wherein theuid passage from the reservoir to the impeller and runner is checi; valve controlled, the outer shell being spaced apart from the inner coupling shell, a portion ci said fluid passag being formed by the space between the shells.

fl. A combination as donned in claim l, wherein the outer shell is spaced apart from the inner coupling shell and the inner coupling shell spaced apart fro-rn *he impeller and runner, the fluid passage from the reservoir to the impeller and runner being formed by the space between the outer shell and the inner coupling shell and the space between the coupling shell and the runner,

5. A combination as defined in cla i, wherein the outer shell is spaced apart from the inner coupling shell and the inner coupling shell apart from the impeller and runner, the fluid passage from the reservoir to the impeller and runner being formed by the space between the outer shell and the inner coupling shell and the space between the coupling shell and the renner, and luid flow control checa valves positioned at the entrance to the iiuid passage space between the outer shell and the inner coupling shell.

6. A combination as defined in claim l, wheren in a pair of spaced apart dise-shaped walls extend from the periphery of one end of the inner coupling shell to the vicinity oi its axis, the space between the walls opening into the peri" heral portion of the inner coupling shell and into the reservoir whereby the fluid passage between the inner coupling shell ant reservoir formed.

7. A. combination as defined in claim l, wherein a pair of spaced apart disc-shaped walls extend from the periphery oi one end or the inner coupling shell to the vicinity of its axis, the space between the walls opening into the peripheral portion of the inner coupling shell into the reservoir whereby the huid passage between the inner coupling shell and the reservoir is formed, said walls being contained within the portion of the inner coupling shell surrounding the impeller.

8. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein the outer shell is spaced apart from the inner coupling shell, part of the fluid passage from the reservoir to the impeller and runner being formed by the space between the shells, a pair of spaced apart disc-shaped Walls extending from the periphery of one end of the inner coupling shell to the Vicinity of its axis, the space between the walls opening into the peripheral portion of the inner coupling shell and into the reservoir whereby the fluid passage between the inner coupling shell and the reservoir is formed.

9. A combination as dened in claim 1, wherein the outer shell is spaced apart from the inner coupling shell and the inner coupling shell spaced apart from the impeller and runner, the fluid passage from the reservoir to the impeller andy runner being formed by the space between the outer shell and the inner coupling shell and the space between the inner coupling shell and the runner, a pair of spaced apart disc-shaped walls extending from the periphery of one end of the inner coupling shell to the vicinity of its axis, the space between the walls opening into the peripheral portion of the inner coupling vshell and into 2 the reservoir whereby the fluid passage between the inner coupling shell and the reservoir is formed.

10. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein the outer shell is spaced apart from the inner coupling shell and the inner coupling shell spaced apart from the impeller and runner, the fluid passage from the reservoir to the impeller and runner being formed by the space between the outer shell and the inner coupling shell and the space between the inner coupling shell and the runner, fluid ow control check valves positioned at the entrance to the fluid passage space between the outer shell and the inner coupling shell, a pair of spaced apart disc-shaped walls extending from the periphery of one end of the inner coupling shell to the vicinity of its axis, the space between the w'alls opening into the peripheral portion of the inner coupling shell and into the reservoir whereby the fluid passage between the inner coupling shell and the reservoir is formed.

J OI-lN EDWARD BECKER.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

